How ‘bout them Steelers? After a forgetful outing last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked to get back on track (and did they ever) against the Kansas City Chiefs at home on Sunday Night Football. Fans were counting down the days until they got offensive weapon Le’Veon Bell back after his 3 game suspension, and boy, was it worth the wait. The Steelers beat down the Chiefs by a final score of 43-14.
The first drive out of the gate would dictate the entire first half, as Ben Roethlisberger and co. punched the Chiefs’ defense right in the mouth- a 48 yard pass to Sammie Coates over Marcus Peters made it loud and clear that they wouldn’t be avoiding the pro-bowler. Unfortunately, the opening drive would result in one of the few Jordan Berry appearances.
The proceeding Chiefs’ possession is when the Steelers’ defense would throw a punch of their own- and boy did fans everywhere appreciate it. Jordan Dangerfield, who was making his first start for the injured Robert Golden, pounced on a fumble caused by Stephon Tuitt. Roethlisberger and Darius Heyward-Bey would thank the defense by cashing in a 31-yard touchdown after a broken coverage on a deep corner. The drive would only last 3 plays, but the Steelers jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after a successful 2-point conversion by Markus Wheaton.
The defense would once again make their impact, as Keith Butler was sending the blitz on a regular occasion. Cameron Heyward tipped a would-be running back screen, right into the hands of Jarvis Jones– he would take it back to the Chiefs’ 4 yard line, setting up an Antonio Brown touchdown reception, as Ben found him running a shallow cross along the goalline. The lead would grow to 15-0.
After a Dustin Colquitt punt (this was a normal occurrence during the first half), the Steelers once again strung together a touchdown drive to make the game 22-0. Antonio Brown would grab his second touchdown reception of the evening, beating his single-man coverage to the tune of a 38-yard touchdown.
It seemed as though Kansas City was finally stringing together a bit of momentum on offense, as Alex Smith was deploying his death-by-short pass routine. Fortunately, Vince Williams (who was filing in for the injured Ryan Shazier), began to throw his missile-like self around, forcing the drive to stall.
Following the ever-growing offensive pattern, Ben would charge down the field and quarterback a 10 play, 80 yard drive that would last just over 3 minutes to add to the already large lead- a 9-yard Jesse James touchdown reception would make the game 29-0.
It has to be said, that after that putrid outing last week, the Steelers bounced back with an elastic the size of Texas- having Le’Veon Bell back had a lot to do with it, as his patience and
The first half saw the team accumulate 11 first downs, and go 3-5 (60%) on third down. They also had 238 total yards of offense, while allowing only 148. The team paired that with 2 sacks, and it seemed to be the recipe for success.
The second half saw the Steelers pick up where they left off- by stringing together a 6 play, 75 yard drive that was built on the foundation of Bell’s patient running. A (questionable) 30-yard touchdown reception by Wheaton capped the drive, as Ben threw his 5th and final touchdown of the evening making the game 36-0.
The defense continued to flash as well behind Butler’s newly implemented pressure induced schemes, as Artie Burns demonstrated some of his potential in the secondary. That being said, the defense was unfortunately unable to prevent a shutout, as the Chiefs put together a 7 play, 47 yard drive capped off by a 10 yard Tyreek Hill touchdown reception. This made the game 36-7, but the Steelers weren’t done.
The final Pittsburgh touchdown of the game came via Le’Veon Bell’s much-missed juking and vision; he “quarterbacked” a 75 yard drive that was eventually punched in by his backfield teammate DeAngelo Williams. The Chiefs would cash in on an extremely late Travis Kelce 3-yard touchdown.
The final score was 43-14 in favor of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The return ofBell ignited an offensive (and defensive) display that made last week’s game feel like a distant dream. Bell’s 179 all-purpose yards, and Ben’s 5 touchdown passes propelled the team to victory, as the offense produced a total of 437 yards.
Better yet was the defense’s 4-sack effort- something that’s been missing for quite a while. Fans can lift their heads high, as the team prepares to host the New York Jets in a week’s time.
